refrain from the threat or the use of force; settle disputes by peaceful means, as
detailed at the Hague conferences; and support enforcement mea sures.
Although the foundations of both the League of Nations and the United Nations
focused on security in the realist, classical sense— protection of national territory and
sovereignty— the United Nations is increasingly confronted with demands for action
to support a broadened view of security. UN operations to feed the starving popula
tions of Somalia and Niger, or to provide relief in the form of food, clothing, and
shelter for Haitians and Nepalese forced out of their homes by natu ral disasters, are
examples of this broadened notion of security— human security. Expansion into
these newer areas of security collides head on with the domestic authority of states,
undermining the princi ple of state sovereignty. The United Nations’ found ers recog
nized the tension between the commitment to act collectively against a member state
and the affirmation of state sovereignty. But they could not foresee the dilemmas that
changing definitions of security would pose.
Structure
The structure of the United Nations was developed to serve the multiple roles assigned
by its charter, but incremental changes in that structure have accommodated changes
in the international system, particularly the increase in the number of states. The cen
tral UN organs comprise six major bodies, as Table 7.1 shows.
The power and prestige of these vari ous organs has changed over time. The Secu-
rity Council was kept small to facilitate swift decision making in response to threats
to international peace and security. Its five permanent members— the United States,
Great Britain, France, Rus sia (successor state to the Soviet Union in 1992), and the
People’s Republic of China (replacing the Republic of China in 1971)— are key to
council decision making, each having veto power on substantive issues where una nim
i ty is required. In the early years of the Cold War, the Security Council became dead
locked by the Soviet Union’s frequent use of the veto. Since the 1970s, the United States
has used its veto more times than any other permanent member. The majority of these
vetoes have concerned the Arab Israeli Palestinian conflict.
Since the end of the Cold War, the Security Council has regained power, because the
use of the veto has dropped precipitously. The number of annual official meetings has
risen, the number of resolutions passed has increased with consensus voting, and infor
mal meetings among the permanent members have been more frequent. With greater
cooperation among the permanent powers— especially since 1990, when the council
authorized force against Iraq after its invasion of Kuwait— the Security Council has
taken on more armed conflicts, imposed more types of sanctions in more situations,
created war crimes tribunals to prosecute war criminals, authorized protectorates in
Kosovo and East Timor, and, after 9/11, expanded involvement in antiterrorism activ
216 CHAPTER SEvEn ■ IGO S, InternatIOnal law, and nGOS